HDZ party leader Dragan Čović in Mostar today, at the celebration of the 32nd anniversary of the formation of Herceg Bosnia, said that without it the Croatian people in Bosnia and Herzegovina would not survive, nor would Bosnia and Herzegovina.
He congratulated this anniversary to all those who associate themselves with all the good that was born in the organization of the Croatian Community of Herceg-Bosna, and then the Croatian Republic of Herceg-Bosna, and reminded them of the importance of celebrating that day.
“I repeat every year, where there was no organization of the executive and legislative authorities related to the Croatian community of Herceg-Bosnia, the Croatian people did not survive,” Čović said.
He says that it is important to remember all the people who had enough determination, courage, but also the vision to protect their home, their Croatian people, and the entire BiH.
“If there was no Croatian community, and the Croatian Republic of Herceg-Bosna, I am convinced that Bosnia and Herzegovina as an internationally recognized state would not exist today. So a big thank you to those people, I would say to the greatest sons of our people. But just as well is for our young people to learn, to bond with their history, and that we are ready to accept all that may have been bad in the organization of that country and the consequences, the war in itself brought a lot of bad things. I am convinced that we can to be proud of what is the Croatian community and the Croatian Republic of Herceg-Bosna,” Cović said.
Speaking about the historical circumstances of the 1990s, Čović emphasized that the abolition of the Croatian Community of Herceg-Bosna was a consequence of international agreements that ended the war in Bosnia and Herzegovina.
“We stopped the war, and the price of that agreement was the transformation of all the institutions that at that time had elements of statehood in Bosnia and Herzegovina, both with the Serb, Bosniak, and Croatian people. All the elements of the Herceg-Bosna legislation were incorporated into that Bosnia and Herzegovina, and we are still transforming for 28 years since the Dayton agreement and we are looking for new solutions and we are still looking for the elements of constitutivity that were built into that Dayton constitution of legitimate representation. This is not easy, because it is evident that many have not satisfied their war needs and plans from that time. It is up to us today to build our place in Bosnia and Herzegovina, this is our homeland, but the homeland of a nation that wants to be constitutive, legitimately represented and have all the elements of inclusion in the executive, legislative and political power of Bosnia and Herzegovina “Cović concluded.
It should be recalled that the nature of the formation and existence of Herceg-Bosna is contested, especially after the judgment of the Hague Tribunal, which seven years ago condemned the leaders of the so-called Herceg-Bosne to a total of 111 years in prison. Jadranko Prlić (25 years in prison), Bruno Stojić (20 years in prison), Slobodan Praljak (20 years in prison), Milivoje Petković (20 years in prison), Valentin Ćorić (16 years in prison) and Berislav Pušić (10 years in prison) were found guilty, Klix.ba reports.
